


The Fabulous Memphis Belle

by Oscarsings



Category: Starlight Express - Phillips/Stilgoe/Webber
Genre: short sweet and to the point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:01:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24992749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oscarsings/pseuds/Oscarsings
Summary: Super quick thing about everyone's favorite cut coach
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	The Fabulous Memphis Belle

Belle the Sleeping Car could never be described by simply one phrase.

She was a coach with more style in her pinky finger than the Maharaja Express, she was a lady that had just as many manners as she did crude jokes. The life of the party and a shoulder to lean on, a beauty to behold and a mouth that would make a sailor blush. But if you would need to describe such an incredible car as Belle in one sentence, you could probably sum it all up by saying that it was a blessing if you got the pleasure of meeting her, and if you didn’t realize it your head was thick as a rock.

‘A friend to all’ was a personal favorite descriptor of hers. No matter who you were, the fanciest fastest engine or a rusted down caboose, Belle would go out of her way to put a smile and a laugh on their faces. In fact if it wasn’t for her, the freight yard would still be a sour place where trucks passed through with either an insult on their lips or without any care. Before her it was a nasty place where trucks didn’t do much more than drop off cargo or maybe spend the night. But after the sleeper car took up a permanent residence? It was like a little completely different place. There was community among the trucks permanent and passing, they all laughed together over drinks and swapped stories around bonfires. got into fights, made up, welcomed new trucks in, and they would all thank Belle for it no doubt. 

As much of a lovely lady as she was on the inside, Belle was just as lovely on the outside. Anyone with eyes would be able to see that she was practically a vision of perfection in every way; from the black and red velvet corset that she always wore, to that beautiful ebony paint job, to her tightly pulled back coily hair. Unsurprisingly it made the coach quite popular in her line of work, and she was never ashamed to say it. In fact Belle was rather proud to be a sleeper, ‘and a damn good one at that!’ as she would always put it. Maybe sleepers were generally looked down on, and being introduced as such never failed to get some sort of snide comments or dirty look. But did those remarks ever get Belle down? Of course not! Whenever someone had the gall to try and throw a few insults her way, Belle would never fail to come up with a retort that would make the other truck feel embarrassed and put her in an even better light in the eyes of those who knew her. 

And even though she used to deny it, age only made Belle more beautiful. Growing old may have been the only thing that had ever put a dent in her otherwise iron clad self esteem. Poor thing used to stare in the mirror for hours, frowning at the deep scratches in her paint and the rips in her fishnets, claiming that it made her look ‘worn out’ or ‘run down’. No one could deny that the Sleeper Car wasn’t as bright and shiny as she once was, but that didn’t matter at all. The trucks in her yard never had a reason to lie when they complimented her ever exquisite looks even after her paint began fading.

* * *

“She sounds like quite the coach Poppa” Rusty spoke up finally once the elder engine had gone quiet. 

“She really was.” Poppa agreed as he gazed out the window. His eyes drifted between being glazed over with heartache and softened by the memories. “I wish you could have met her.” 

The little steamer had known about Belle after hearing about hundreds of Poppa’s tales, but he’d never had the heart to ask about her directly. Whenever the sleeper car was brought up, he would get a sad glint to his eyes that Rusty just couldn’t bear to comment on. But today his curiosity just got the best of him, and now it was happy he did. 


End file.
